Ann Arbor Half Marathon

Although it has nothing to do with fathers, I celebrated Fathers Day this year by running the inaugural Ann Arbor Marathon (I ran the half).  Since this was the debut of a (hopefully!) city tradition, the whole town was flooded with energy!  Locals came out to watch and cheer us on, and there were many volunteers for refreshment stations.  The energy gels they gave out were clutch, too!  The course was beautiful, as it wound through some of the best sights Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus have to offer.  I highly recommend any of you readers to check it out next year, if you happen to be in the midwest region!

Anyways, I PR'd by SIX MINUTES so I'm absolutely stoked about that!  I finished strong and energetic at 1:56:08.  Despite the heat and humidity from the threatening storm, I felt great throughout the run.  Miles 8-10 were the toughest for me, as they looped around the mall and there weren't nearly as many spectators cheering us on, but it seemed like everyone was feeling the same way, so we cheered our fellow runners on to head into the final 3 mile return to finish.

Unlike my last half, I had no joint pain after this one.  However, around mile 7 I started feeling a pretty gnarly blister forming between my toes and the ball of my right foot.  The endorphins eased me to the finish, but I'll have to take a good week off of training to let it heal properly.

My plan now is to continue running and finish the Woodstock Full Marathon in September!

What are your favorite races?